At the time of writing this blog, iOS accounted for ~27.6 percent share^[1] whereas Android dominated with 71.8 percent of the mobile operating system market. Though Android leads the race by a huge margin, iOS apps have a significant higher revenue when compared to Android apps. In 2021, users spent close to $85.1 billion on iOS apps as compared to $47.9billion on Android apps!

Android and iOS apps revenue comparison

However, many application users fall prey to online attacks whereby malicious actors/hackers might gain illegal access to your data, device, etc. For instance, hackers were able to exploit the zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2022-32917) in iOS though which they were able to execute rogue computer code iPhones with kernel privileges^[2].

Since consumer’s data and company’s reputation is at stake, companies (i.e. OS providers like Apple, Google) release software patches to fix the vulnerabilities. In terms of security, iOS apps are considered to be more secure than Android apps since Apple has so far operated the iOS store as a closed-walled garden. As per reports, Apple is planning to open up its walled garden in 2023^[3] which means that users might be able to side-load apps in iPhones as well 🙂

Since the use of iOS is on a continuous rise, it is important to focus on the security aspects of the application. Digital businesses (B2B, B2C, B2D, B2B2C) must focus heavily on security testing of the app so that they can ship a fully-functional highly-secure app to the users! Onboarding a security testing company with experience in serving customers from different segments can turn out to be a huge benefit in bolstering the security testing efforts.

In this blog, we deep dive into the tips & tricks that should be a part of the iOS security testing checklist. The learnings of this blog can act as a go-to guide to security testing of iOS applications. Do, let’s get started…

Security Challenges With iOS Applications

As mentioned earlier, iOS apps are considered to be more secure and less vulnerable to data thefts (or leaks) when compared to their Android counterparts. It is important to note that all third-party iOS applications (i.e. apps that are not available out-of-the-box in iPhones) are sandboxed^[4].

Hence, the apps will not be able to modify/access files stored by the other apps. Also, these apps are restricted from making any changes in the device settings.

Having said that, here are some of the major challenges that iOS developers can face when comes to security of the apps:

Network Security

Any type of iOS application will require some interaction over the network. Whether it is a gaming/banking/e-commerce application, it would still require connectivity with the back-end (or database).

Apps in the domains like fintech and banking domains might transmit sensitive information (e.g. username, account details, etc.) over the network. As a principle, the data must follow the best encryption standards so that only authorized personnel are able to decrypt the same on the recipient side. It is recommended to always follow secure communication protocols like SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to establish an encrypted link between the client and server.

As an iOS app developer, you must follow the right security protocols for ensuring that data is always secure – whether it is in transit or at rest!

Also Read – Network Penetration Testing: What, Why, and How

Input Validation

No unverified or unvalidated data must get into the back-end. Your app might have input forms but the data being entered by the users must be validated before being sent to the server.

Apart from this, the app might be receiving data from external sources (e.g. network requests). Network requests must be secure so that the app is not vulnerable to injection attacks.

As an iOS app developer, any type of data (including input characters) or external request must go through validation cycle at the front-end and/or back-end.

Insecure Storage

Any type of app will need to store some data on the device’s storage (or cache). This stored information will be helpful in boosting the app’s startup time as well as its performance.

Any leakage of data can lead to financial losses to the respective user of the app. Along with validating the input, developers have to make sure that the data (irrespective of its sensitivity) must be secure & encrypted all the time. This minimizes the probability of vulnerabilities in the app.

Use of broken cryptographic algorithms

Till now you would have realized that data (in any form) must be secure whether it is in transit or at rest. iOS apps make use of cryptography for securing the data. However, the hardest part is choosing the best cryptographic libraries for usage in the app.

You need to have the right understanding about cryptography and the features of the available cryptographic libraries. Make use of strong hashing functions or strong ciphers^[5] for fixing insecure use of cryptography.

iOS Application Security Testing Checklist

Now that we have looked into some of the most important security challenges that need to be addressed on priority, let’s deep dive into the items that need to be there in the checklist.

Keychain for sensitive data storage

The keychain services API provides the flexibility to the app developers through which small bits of user data (e.g. passwords, keys, certificates, etc.) can be stored in an encrypted database called a Keychain.

Keychain Services API

Sensitive customer data like credit card information can also be stored in keychains. Access to other apps in the device is restricted via ACL (Access Control Lists) or Keychain Access Groups for items that are synchronized via the iCloud.

The encryption mechanism used by Keychain is compromised on jailbroken devices, which is why Apple does not recommend iPhone users to avoid jailbreaking devices^[6]. You can find more information about keychains in official Keychains API documentation.

Enforcing App Transport Security

Networking feature called App Transport Security (ATS) was introduced by Apple post the release of iOS 9. The feature greatly improves the privacy and integrity of iOS apps and app extensions.

App Transport Security Overview

The mandatory requirement is that network connections made by the app are secured via the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. This is achieved using ciphers and reliable certificates. As per ATS, every connection must mandatorily use HTTPS and TLS1.3.

ATS blocks all the network connections that do not meet the basic security requirements. You can find more information about keychains in official App Transport Security (ATS) documentation.

Also Read – Your Guide To Mobile Application Security Testing

SSL Pinning

As mentioned earlier, SSL (Secure Socket Layer) supporting minimum TLS1.2 is mandated as per ATS requirements^[7]. For starters, SSL ensures that all the communication between the client and server happens over a secure channel.

As app developers, it is a good practice to keep the users informed about the repercussions of using unsecured public networks. This is where SSL pinning (or certificate pinning) comes into the picture.

SSL pinning is a mechanism through which the client verifies whether it is communicating to the right server, rather than some attacker that has intercepted the communication. With SSL pinning, the communication between the client and server is always secure and the SSL certificate is pinned (or embedded) in the client application. The integral question is how does both the parties (i.e. client and server) ensure that the communication between them is secure. This is done via certificate matching process.

Whenever there is any client-server communication, the server’s certificate is compared with the certificate that is embedded in the client app. In case the certificates match, connection is secure else it is considered to be insecure. Insecure communication does not go through since the connection is automatically terminated.

SSL pinning is majorly instrumental in avoiding man-in-the-middle attack (MitM)^[8] where the attacker secretly intercepts and relays messages between the client & server (who are assumed to communicate with each other). TrustKit is one of the most-popular open-source SSL pinning libraries that is widely used by iOS and macOS applications. You can find more information about TrustKit in the official documentation of TrustKit.

Also Read – Mobile App Security Testing Checklist

Debug Code

It is not a good practice to leave code with debug logs in production. It unnecessarily increases the app memory size and footprint. The bigger problem is that the code is compiled along with the API calls being used, thereby providing room for malicious actors to attack the network!

Like any other form of code, it is recommended to have Debug logs enabled under conditional compilation directives. As mentioned in Apple Developer Forums^[9], Swift (language used for creating iOS apps) does not have preprocessors. As stated in the forum, it is recommended to have debug code under the #if DEBUG … #endif directives.

Check authenticity of third-party libraries

It is a common practice used by iOS developers to leverage third-party libraries for accelerating the development time. However, there are risks of using untested or insecure third-party libraries. Some libraries might even exploit vulnerabilities in the source code – a factor that will be detrimental for the application!

Hence, it is recommended to check the authenticity of the third-party libraries. You can even go further by executing sample security tests on those tools. A good practice is to verify how many popular iOS apps^[10] use the said third-party library. This can be a good starting point in making a decision regarding the usage of libraries in your application.

Data Protection

As mentioned earlier, it is a good security practice to ensure that the data is always secure (be it in transit or rest). As explained before, ATS (App Transport Security) takes care of the security aspects when the data is in transit.

The NSFileProtectionComplete flag must be used to keep the data in the disk encrypted or secured all the time. As stated in the official documentation, the flag also ensures that the data is in the encrypted format even when the device is in the booting stage or locked state.

Tools to enable secure interaction with users, data, and code

The NSFileProtectionCompleteUntilFirstUserAuthentication global variable ensures that the file on the disk is in the encrypted format and can only be accessed after the device has booted. You should refer to Security framework documentation that deep dives into the security framework used for protecting information, establishing trust, and controlling access to software.

Screen Recording and Capture

Screen recording and screen capture must be mandatorily disabled for screens where users are entering personal details, credit card information, etc.

Recording or capturing activities happening on the device screen can result in serious consequences like data leak or potential misuse of information. In fact, there are a couple of iOS apps^[11] that actually records what the users are doing on the screen.

Just imagine if the users are able to capture screen or record interactions when your iOS app is in use? It is a serious security concern that could shoo away users from the app. In such cases, you could use the ScreenshotPreventing – a simple wrapper that prevents screen recording and screen capture in the respective iOS app.

For integrating ScreenshotPreventing into the Xcode project using Swift Package Manager, simply add the following to the dependencies value of your Package.swift:

ScreenshotPreventing

Conclusion

In this detailed blog, we deep dived into some of the important security aspects that should be a part of the iOS app development and testing checklist. Security and data privacy are some of the basic requirements that your iOS app should adhere to, as any compromise could lead to data leaks and misuse of personal (or private) information.

In case you (or your team) does not have expertise with security testing, it’s best to onboard an experienced mobile app testing services company like KiwiQA. The team at KiwiQA has worked with a number of individual iOS developers and iOS development companies, whereby they could release highly functional & secure apps to their target audience.

The smartphone revolution is reality and its growth can be attributed to the availability of affordable handsets and soaring growth of mobile internet (3G and 4G). As a matter of fact, 5G will further propel the staggering growth of mobile phones!

As per 2021 reports^[1], there are close to 3.8 billion smartphone users in the world. Close to 21 percent^[2] millennials open 50+ mobile apps in a day. Though the mobile app space is over-crowded with apps ranging in different categories, there still lies an opportunity to flourish if the app functions as per the user expectations.

Source

Since consumers have a lot of choices when it comes to mobile applications, it is important to invest in app development and testing so that a top-quality app can be released in the respective mobile app stores. Mobile app testing must be an indispensable part of the mobile app strategy.

The first & foremost step in building a killer mobile app testing strategy is understanding the various types of mobile app testing methodologies (or approaches). This will help in prioritizing the app testing approaches that matter the most for your application.

What is Mobile Application Testing?

Mobile application testing (or mobile app testing) is the process of testing the mobile app from functionality and usability point of view on different browsers, devices, and device viewports.

As there are umpteen combinations of browsers, browser versions, and device viewports; it is important to prioritize the ones that are being used in the target market. Mobile app testing encompasses testing of a wide range of applications – native apps, responsive apps, and hybrid apps.

By the end of the rigorous mobile app testing cycles, you would have a fully functional and well-performing mobile app that can be released to the target users. Mobile app testing services offered by proven outsourced QA vendors like KiwiQA can also be leveraged to accelerate the delivery cycles of the app.

Now that we have covered the basics of mobile app testing, let us deep dive into the major types of mobile testing.

Also Read – Checklist To Test Your Mobile App Successfully

Different Types of Mobile App Testing

Here are the major types (or forms) of mobile app testing:

1. Geolocation and Localization Testing

There are a number of mobile applications that are localized for a particular geography (or locale). However, a large number of applications are built for a global user-base. For example, an e-commerce application might only be shipping in a few countries but there is a high possibility that it might be available for download for the global user base.

Geolocation testing of mobile apps helps in verifying the functionalities of the app when it is accessed from different geographies. When apps appeal to a global user base, the features and/or content also has to be localized as per the particular locale. The app must also adhere to the local laws and regulations.

Localization testing of mobile apps is important for ensuring that the content, features, and other aspects of the app are inline with the requirements of the local audience. Apps that are tested thoroughly for geolocation and localization perform much better when compared to the ones that are not tested on those fronts.

2. Usability Testing

Though users download the required app for its functionalities, they stick around for the user experience. The user-flow in the app must be simple so that users are able to navigate in the app with ease. Also, the app must be super-functional so that users do not encounter any problems.

This is why end-to-end tests on real devices becomes necessary since it helps in testing the app from an end-user’s perspective. The usability tests have to be conducted on real devices that are being used by the users in the target market.

The app must also be tested for responsiveness and intuitiveness in usability testing.

3. Security Testing

Close to 81 percent users^[3] are willing to uninstall the app if there is any compromise on security and privacy fronts.

There is a myth that data security is only applicable for mobile apps where the users have to deal with monetary transactions. In fact, data security and privacy are extremely important for all mobile applications.

End-to-end security testing must be conducted to make sure that the app is not only functional but also adheres to all the required security standards.

4. Performance Testing

Performance tests of mobile applications are important to ensure that the app’s performance does not deteriorate under different working conditions. Battery consumption, memory consumption, app sluggishness, app load times, and other such parameters must be measured for checking the app’s performance.

Device performance, network performance, app recovery, etc. are some of the important aspects that must be covered in performance testing. Since most of the mobile applications involve interactions with the server, it is also important to consider the overall time taken to fulfill the app requests.

Also Read – Load Testing vs. Performance Testing vs. Stress Testing

5. Memory Leak Testing

For starters, memory leak in a software is caused when a dynamically allocated memory block is not freed using the required APIs. Mobile apps can start crashing at random places if there are memory leaks since the dynamic memory chunk is not available for allocation.

As a part of functional testing, memory consumption must be monitored on a regular basis. Android Monitor is one of the widely used tools that offers CPU profiling, memory profiling, network profiling, and energy profiling.

The tool can also be used for benchmarking your mobile app vis-a-vis other similar applications.

On the whole, memory leak testing is performed by running the app on different configurations of mobile devices. This helps in optimizing the app so that it works efficiently on the target mobile devices.

Apart from the above testing types, mobile applications are also tested for speed. App load and app unload times are some of the parameters that can be tracked in speed testing. If the app (or website) is taking more than 3 seconds to load, it is time to optimize the app load time.

Conclusion

Mobile app testing has become an integral part of the mobile app strategy. Apart from app development, companies must also focus on app testing so that a fully functional app is released in the market.

The mobile testing types discussed in the blog will come in handy when devising the testing strategy. Whether you use the manual testing or automated testing, app testing must be performed on real devices since the apps would be used on real devices (and not on emulators/simulators).

As per a survey, close to 98 percent of the apps are not completely secure. This is an alarmingly high number since the private data of the app users could be at stake. Hence, mobile app development companies must make app security testing a part of the DevOps and testing lifecycle.

Companies must move away from the mindset where security testing is pushed to the end of the development lifecycle. All the essential security checks must be performed before the changes are made live on the production server. It is recommended to partner with a mobile application testing company in scenarios where you do not have an inhouse security testing team.

In case you are on the lookout for a detailed checklist to get started with security testing, look no further since we have it all covered in this blog. The learnings of this blog will be helpful in devising a security testing strategy for your mobile app.

State Of Mobile App Security

As per the State Of Mobile report^[1] by Data.ai, close to 4.35 Lakh app downloads are performed every minute. Daily time spent by users has also risen to 4.8 hours in 2021.

Though mobile apps have been widely used across the globe, issues still lie with security aspects of many mobile applications. One out of thirty-six apps are not completely secure for end usage. This is an alarmingly high number and the only resort to bring down this number is by relentlessly focusing on improving the app’s security.

Since app security is of prime importance, many companies opt for mobile app testing services for ensuring that mobile applications are tested in a rigorous manner. As far as mobile apps are concerned, they are primarily categorized as:

• Native Apps – Apps that are built using the SDK offered by the respective mobile OS (i.e. Android or iOS)
• Hybrid Apps – Apps with look & feel of native apps but behave like web apps, thereby taking the advantage offered by both the app types
• Web Apps – Apps that are built using HTML and accessed from the mobile web browsers. These are desktop apps that are tailor-made for the mobile viewport

Also Read – Introduction to API Security Testing

Mobile App Security Issues in Android & iOS

Security issues that you would encounter in Android apps might differ from those witnessed in iOS apps. Well, they are two different operating systems – Android is open-source whereas iOS is closed-source.

Many OEM manufacturers add changes to the Android mainline code at different levels (e.g. kernel, middleware, UI) to have a differentiating factor from the competitors. As an Android app developer, it is recommended to opt for native apps if the app needs access to the device capabilities like camera, GPS, sensors, etc.

Now that we have the platform set, let me walk you through the different security issues in Android and iOS.

Mobile App Security Concerns in iOS

It is a well-known fact that iOS apps go through a much wider scrutiny by the apps team before they are made live on the iOS store. However, it might be incorrect to say that iOS apps are not vulnerable to security attacks.

As per OWASP^[2], here are the top 10 security concerns observed in iOS applications:

• Improper Platform Usage
• Insecure Data Storage
• Insecure Communication
• Insecure Authentication
• Insufficient Cryptography
• Insecure Authorization
• Client Code Quality
• Code Tampering
• Reverse Engineering
• Extraneous Functionality

Mobile App Security Concerns in Android

Contrary to iOS applications, Android apps are more vulnerable to security threats. The app screening process to get listed on PlayStore is not so stringent compared to iOS (or iTunes) store.

Some of the major security concerns observed in Android applications^[3] are:

• Social Engineering
• Data leakage through malicious applications
• Spyware
• MITM (Man-in-the-Middle Attacks)
• Permission issues
• Phishing and malvertising

To identify security issues in the mobile applications, it is important to devise a detailed Vulnerability Assessment plan and Security Testing & Pentesting plan.

Also Read – Android Vs. iOS Mobile App Testing

Detailed Mobile Security Testing Checklist

Here are the major pointers that must make way into the security testing checklist:

1. Perform Security Audit

This is the very first step in identifying security issues in the mobile application. As a QA engineer, you need to know the purpose and depth of the audit. For example, if the application is using third-party APIs, you need to make sure that the data is secure whether it is in transit or at rest.

Since there would be multiple areas of security that need to be looked into, you should prioritize the ones that need immediate attention. Authentication and authorization, access permissions, data storage, and cookies are some of the areas that should be looked into at a high priority.

The audit must include the ways to mitigate different types of security threats, along with covering ways in which such security issues can be looked into at early stages of the development & testing cycle.

2. Threat Modeling and Assessment

As mentioned in OWASP^[4], threat modeling is the process of identifying, communicating, and understanding the threats & mitigations within the context of protecting something of great value. In case of mobile applications, threats could be from third-party interactions (e.g. third-party APIs or interactions with third-party servers) or it could be security threat due to poorly designed app architecture.

At this stage, team members need to wear the hats of attackers & users and exploit the security vulnerabilities from all angles. Usage of automated tools like ADB (Android Debug Bridge), MobSF (Mobile Security Framework), and iMAS (iOS Mobile Application Security) can be used for performing automated security tests on Android & iOS applications.

Threat modeling and assessment is an integral step since it helps in realizing a risk-based analysis of the bug priority and its impact. It is an integral part of the mobile app security testing checklist.

3. Security Exploitation

In the previous step, you identified (or assessed) the potential vulnerabilities. Now is the time to use the appropriate pentesting or security testing tools to exploit different vulnerabilities in the app.

Performing this step is critical since it ensures that the security vulnerabilities do not make it to the app that will go live on the app store. QARK (Quick Android Review Kit) and ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) are the widely used mobile app security testing tools.

In case your team is not experienced enough to use these tools, it is advised to onboard an experienced mobile testing services company like KiwiQA that has the experience of working with a wide range of clients.

4. Fixing Vulnerabilities

By the end of this step, you would have identified the vulnerabilities and even tried to exploit the same. The security vulnerabilities must be divided in different priority buckets so that you (and the team) can patch the security issues as per the priority.

Now, you should have a well-tested app that has been tested well from a security standpoint.

Also Read – Guide To Mobile Application Security Testing

Conclusion

In this blog, we deep dived into the essential aspects of mobile app security testing. Testing the mobile app from a security perspective is important for ensuring customer stickiness. It avoids scenarios of any potential data leaks where vital confidential (or personal) information is accessible to an untrusted environment.

To make the most out of security testing, many developers and enterprises onboard an experienced mobile app testing services company in order to release a more secure mobile app in the respective store.

There are a number of mobile applications where users enter personal details and perform financial transactions using modes like credit cards, debit cards, online banking, etc. Any security loophole in the app can be exploited by malicious actors to gain access to the crucial private information that is lying in the mobile device.

Security lapses (or breaches) in the mobile app can be prevented or mitigated with exhaustive penetration testing. Mobile app security is extremely critical from a user’s point of view. Hence, app developers as well as enterprises are leveraging pentesting (or penetration testing) to test the IT infrastructure, database security, web application, and other aspects related to the mobile app.

On the whole, mobile pentesting must be considered as an integral part of the overall app security plan. It is recommended to partner with a proven penetration testing company in case you do not have in-house expertise in mobile app pentesting. In this blog, we will deep dive into the essential aspects of devising a top-notch mobile app pentesting strategy.

What is Mobile App Penetration Testing?

As the name indicates, mobile app penetration testing emulates a real-world attack on the app to detect the security vulnerabilities in the app. The mobile app pentesting strategy is aimed to detect issues on the front-end, back-end (or databases), binary compile problems, and sensitive data storage.

Just imagine the gravity of the damage in scenarios where sensitive data (e.g. username, password, etc.) is stored as normal strings in the back-end. Hackers could also sell this sensitive data on the dark web marketplace^[2]. Such a situation can be avoided by making mobile app pentesting a regular feature in the big scheme of things.

Pen testers are expected to have in-depth knowledge about mobile app environments so that they can create test scenarios that help identify security vulnerabilities in the app. A scalable mobile app penetration testing strategy includes both manual as well as the automated approach to testing.

Also Read – Things You Should Know About Penetration Testing

Mobile App Penetration Testing Best Practices

Now that we have touched upon the important concepts of pentesting of mobile applications, let me cover the best practices for pentesting.

1. Create detailed pentesting plan

Before you can start running penetration tests on the mobile application, it is essential to formulate a plan that outlines the following:

• Pentesting tools
• Test scenarios
• Prioritization of the test scenarios
• Insights into mobile app environments

Some practices of mobile app testing in one mobile OS environment (e.g. iOS) can be replicated with ease in other environments. The practices outlined in OWASP cheat sheet is a good starting point for creating a formidable mobile app pentesting plan.

2. Create testing environments

Like any other form of testing, you need to focus on creating a testing environment that is suited for running penetration tests. There are tools that let you jailbreak the iPhone so penetration tests can be performed on iOS applications.

Android and iOS penetration testing must be considered an integral part of the application’s security audit. Improper platform usage, insecure authentication,  insecure authorization, code tampering, etc. are some of the vulnerabilities that must be looked into when running pen tests on mobile apps.

3. Choose the ideal pentesting tools

There are a number of options when it comes to penetration testing of mobile applications. You will have the option of premium as well as open-source tools. The choice of tool purely depends on the testing environment.

Wireshark, OWASP ZAP, TCPDump, AppCrack, and Apktool are some of the most popular mobile app penetration testing tools. Along with the project requirements, you must also have a detailed look at the in-house expertise with pentesting tools.

Onboarding an experienced penetration testing services company like KiwiQA can be highly beneficial in such cases, as you can make a well-informed choice when choosing pentesting tools.

4. Prioritize test scenarios

The saying ‘one size fits all’ approach does not apply to mobile app pentesting. Test scenarios being developed for pentesting of e-commerce applications can be drastically different from that of a fintech application.

Once the team has designed the test scenarios, it is important to categorize the scenarios in different buckets. You should run pentest for the test scenarios that are of a higher priority. Consider scenarios involving sensitive customer data, financial transactions, etc. on a higher priority in the pentesting plan.

Also Read – How To Perform Penetration Testing For E-Commerce Applications?

5. Launch server attacks

Irrespective of whether you are testing an iOS app or an Android app, the app will be downloaded from the server. Apart from the official iOS store and Playstore, companies leverage the use of app distribution platforms to improve the app’s reach.

As a party of server attacks, you must check about unauthorized and authorized file uploads. Both Playstore and iOS app stores have authentication mechanisms in place between the smartphone and the server. These must be checked thoroughly to ensure that no vulnerabilities exist when there is communication between the phone and the corresponding server (from where the app is downloaded).

6. Launch network attacks

Intercepting the network traffic must be considered on priority in the mobile app pentesting strategy. Network sniffers must be used extensively for sniffing (or monitoring) the network traffic for vital information like protocol used, monitoring network requests & data packets, and more.

It is important to ensure that the data is secure, whether it is in transit or in rest. As a part of network attacks, the pentesting team must examine the authentication, authorization, and session management mechanisms.

Wireshark, Windump, TCPDump, Auvik, and NetworkMiner are some of the most widely used network sniffing tools.

Also Read – Key Stages of Penetration Testing

7. Perform file analysis at various levels

Most applications make use of the OAuth mechanism along with other third-party APIs. As a part of mobile app penetration testing, you have to ensure that sensitive data is not stored on third-party servers.

Frequent checking of buffer overflows and the potential of SQL-based injection attacks must be considered when conducting analysis at binary and file levels.

Conclusion

Penetration testing is critical in today’s times since it ensures that the app is secure from an end-user’s perspective. In this blog, I covered the best practices for pentesting of mobile applications. As mentioned earlier, you should choose the right tools for executing the pentesting strategy.

Many mobile app developers and enterprises prefer to partner with a company like KiwiQA that pioneers in offering penetration testing services. Rather than building an in-house team from scratch, it is recommended to onboard an experienced partner to execute mobile app pentesting strategy at a faster pace.

The same phenomenon is also observed when it comes to mobile gaming. As per reports[1], the COVID-19 pandemic drove to increased demand for mobile games. In the first quarter of 2021, users downloaded 30 percent more mobile games than they did in the forth quarter of 2019. Spending on mobile games hit a record $1.7 billion[2] per week in Q1 2021.

Image Source: App Annie

With the exponential rise in mobile gaming, mobile game developers and gaming companies need to focus game development as well as game testing. This is where a game testing company can play an instrumental role in performing game testing on a range of mobile device viewports. Like other popular forms of testing, there are a number of myths also associated with mobile game testing.

In this blog, we look at the top myths related to mobile game testing; the learnings of which will help in building a formidable mobile game testing strategy.

Myth 1: Testing on emulators will suffice

Mobile games are significantly different in comparison to other forms of mobile applications (e.g. shopping, wellness, etc.). A majority of the mobile games make extensive use of the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) along with the mobile chipset’s CPU that runs at high frequencies.

Most modern high-end mobile phones are equipped with high RAM/ROM and a dedicated GPU. Hence, all the graphics related processing is done by the GPU whereas the CPU takes care of the normal instruction processing. Adreno and MALI are some of the best-performing mobile GPUs in the market.

Emulator and simulators are only useful for doing functional testing of mobile games. You need to test the developed mobile game on different real mobile devices for ensuring that it meets the power & performance standards.

Also Read: Best Practices of Mobile Game Testing

Myth 2: Testing on Emulators And Simulators Is Not Necessary

This myth might sound as a contradiction of myth 1; however that is definitely not the case. Many game developers are under the assumption that game testing can only be performed on real devices. Real device testing is necessary but that does not mean that you cannot test mobile games on emulators & simulators.

Mobile and OS fragmentation is one of the growing concerns of mobile app (including mobile game) developers. It is unlikely to test a developed game on almost all the mobile device viewports. Android emulators and iOS simulators can help in performing functional testing to a certain extent.

Many modern-age cloud testing companies provide emulators and simulators (on the cloud); the same infrastructure can be leveraged to perform game testing. Mobile app testing differs a lot from conventional mobile app testing. Hence, it is recommended to perform extensive testing on real devices and the same can be accompanied with testing on emulators & simulators. A mix of real device testing and emulator & simulator testing reaps best results.

Myth 3: Mobile Game Security Testing Is Not Necessary

App security is normally associated with mobile apps that involve financial transactions (e.g. online shopping, banking, etc.). However, security should be considered of paramount importance for mobile game testing as well.

With the rapid proliferation of mobile apps, mobile games are the next big targets of hacking attacks. Many mobile game developers tend to keep app security in the back-seat in order to gain upper edge in the market[3]. However, this loophole can be exploited by hackers, which could eventually lead to massive revenue loss to the game developers.

Game assets, art, data, as well as code can be re-engineered, repackaged, and launched in the market. Some of them might even have malware. Unlike other mobile applications, mobile games should also be tested from a security perspective else it might lead to bad brand image along with resulting in massive revenue losses.

Also Read: Different Stages of Game Testing

Myth 4: Mobile Games must be tested on all real devices

Device and OS fragmentation is one of the growing pain points for mobile app developers, including mobile game developers. Mobile devices come in different screen sizes, RAM/ROM configurations, sport different CPU & GPU chipsets, etc.

As per reports, the number of mobile devices is expected to reach 18.22 billion by 2025[4]. This is a massive jump from 17.72 billion in 2020. This essentially means that are a number of devices from different OEMs like Samsung, Motorola, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, etc. that are released on a regular basis.

Hence, mobile app developers cannot test the developed game on every mobile device that is available in the market.

Game developers need to prioritize the mobile devices in different target categories so that they can carry out testing on real devices in different phases. Game testing on every mobile device that is available on planet earth is a myth; else game developers would never be in a position to release their mobile game in the respective market(s).

Myth 5: Game Testing can be taken up after Development

Gone are the days when software development and testing would be performed in a non-connected fashion. The principles of shift-left testing that are extensively used for development & testing is also applicable for mobile game development.

Every feature and upgrade being done on the mobile game should pass through multiple test cycles before the upgrade is made live on the respective store (i.e. App Store or Play Store). Game testing should be performed hand-in-hand with the development and cloud-based automation testing tools should be leveraged to realize these requirements.

Mobile game developers should remember that even a 5 percent change in the implementation can break the existing features of the game. In scenarios where development is not followed up with thorough testing, the entire development-testing cycle will elongate; eventually impacting the release timelines of the respective game.

Also Read: Major Game Testing Challenges Game Testers Face

Conclusion

Mobile game testing should be considered as an equivalent priority like game development. It is recommended to partner with a proven game testing services company like KiwiQA that can help expedite the entire game testing process.

Mobile game testing can make or break the potential of a winning game. Hence, it is advisable to take mobile game testing on priority so that you do not lose a potential edge over your competition!